Bad Experiences in Curacao?

[Beboandles]

I would like to know if anyone has had any bad experiences in Curacao? my wife and myself are divers and planed on taking my daughter and one of her friends on a trip in july.we were planning an all inclusive to curucao.I had looked around on the boards and saw some positive comments but later spoke with some one who had dived there previously . he told me they were not very friendly to english speaking people,that it was not really safe,he may would sugesst me going alone but not taking family and stated that due to US oil refinery that the ecosystem has suffered.
has anyone else ever experienced this? would you reccomend this place? are there any better suggestions for a family?we are looking for a place with great diving and also be entertaining for the teenage girls.
thanks in advance for any of you comments or suggestions

 

[Love2Scuba4471]

Wow, I took my family(wife, and 6yo Son) January 2007. People there were extremely friendly, very safe. Diving was awesome, alot to see, great vis, lots of dive sites. Sorry to here you had someone tell you it was bad. I can't wait to get back there. In fact I am thinking about buying property to retire there when that time comes.

 

[Damselfish]

I've been there 6 times. I wouldn't have gone so many times if I thought it was a problem. Lots of people go there, it's a fairly popular dive destination. There's certainly Americans living there.

People aren't unfriendly to English speaking people - most people you'll run into speak English along with 2-4 other languages. Some people may be reserved or not speak English well but that is different than unfriendly. (It was a little true in the early 90s, not really unfriendliness but more a sense that people didn't want to be bothered or take the trouble. That was before they supported much American tourism, at the time there seemed to be a push to encourage local folks to be friendlier to American tourists since they wanted more of them to come. I actually read stuff about this a local paper there in 92. It seems to have worked)

I don't find it unsafe. There is a fairly large urban area and I would use common sense just like anyplace, but we have gone all sorts of places day and night and not felt unsafe or had a problem.

The entire ecosystem is not as pristine as Bonaire, I think that is due more to a higher population, shipping/commerce etc. and not particularly related to the refinery. (Which AFAIK is not a "US" refinery, I think it was originally Dutch Shell and is currently leased to Venezuela.) I think the marine park was formed much later than Bonaire's, but ironically the best marine environment and diving is towards the western end of the island, where it is not a marine park.

I assume you are looking at Beaches. It would not be my choice because I prefer locations towards the west end of the island away from everything and closer to the best diving, I'm not interested in AIs, and I'm not crazy about the dive op. (I did stay at Lion's dive once which is nearby.) But I'm sure your family would have a very nice time there.

Curacao is not Americanized, you will actually feel like you visited a foreign country - unlike someplace like Aruba or Grand Cayman where you might feel like you're in Florida.

 

[Beboandles]

thanks for all your comments.thats why i wanted to ask here on the boards because i have looked and not seen much to that effect. curacao was our first pick and i think after hearing from you we will continue to make our plans to go there in july.
i will also look into the west end. i am not set on all inclusive,just never been there and thought it would be simplier.(besides, the one person i know that has been there evidently does not provide accurate info)

 

[PePaw]

First i've heard of it.
All the ABC's are wonderful. I could absolutely move to Aruba or Curacao tommorrow !
American TV and FOOTBALL and all the fast foods we've come to love !

 

[khobday]

We stayed at Habitat Curacao for a week in August 2006 and recommend it (with one reservation). The house reef is excellent with VERY easy access (50 yards to the wall?) -- great for evening dives!! The dive boats go to very interesting sites -- 10-20 minutes away generally. I agree with others that the reefs aren't as pristine (more algae growth) than some other locations like Cayman Brac, but the convenience of the house reef makes up for that somewhat.

The dive staff are friendly (some are slightly brusque but within the range of normal personality variables) and the hotel is quite nice.

My only reservation involves the onsite restaurant. Food is just OK and service is mediocre to poor. It isn't owned by the resort so you can't do consolidated billing. BY ALL MEANS make sure you settle up the night before you leave. It takes them forever to total all your bills for the week and you don't want to do that when you're trying to get to the airport.

I'd recommend a rental car to get around to various shore dives and other sites on the island.

There is a new resort out at the far end of the island that I'm hearing good things about as well.

-Ken

 

[crb792]

We have just returned from our fourth trip to Curacao. I can only say good things about the people and the diving there. We stay at Sunset Waters and use Sunset Divers. The resort is about 20 minutes from the airport and is fairly isolated. This may not work well with teenagers.

We really like the resort and will return next year. Food is good, the rooms clean and I can not say enough about the gracious staff!

Sunset Divers really knows how to take care of you. They rig your tanks for you and go out of their way to make sure you have a good dive. I have included a link to a trip report by Scubagal from a couple of years ago. It gives a fair opinion of the resort and dive op.

Scuba Diving - The Magazine Divers Trust

 

[Stichus III]

Beboandles,

It is a fact that Curacaoens are not as service minded as Arubans and Bonaireians. The crime rate in Curacao is also higher than in Aruba and Bonaire, but has been in steady decline for some time now. I would consider Curacao safe, but as always visitors should not do anything they would not do at home. Curacao is a beautiful island; don't let your friend discourage you.

 

[george w]

hi my wife and I went to breezes there.last june. The people were not friendly to us. My bank card did not work at the resort so I had to walk to a bank. Very bad area. The diving was very nice and the dive people on the dive boat were very nice. The people at the resort who worked there and the guests were not. The food was not good also. Would never go back. To me sandals is the way to go.

 

[herman]

We stayed on Curacao a couple of years ago and enjoyed our stay. We traveled all over this island and I make it a point to visit a lot of different restaurants. We found the food very good, service was good and prices reasonable. We never felt like we should not be any place and we walked to a lot of restaruants - we stayed a dozen blocks or so from downtown. From what we were told, there are places you don't want to go but it's that way in any town. I still prefer Bonaire because it's smaller and less busy but I do intend to return some day.